The Gospel Unleashed

• Series: Pandemic
• by: Adam Sheffield 04/06/09

One way to describe the book of the Acts of the Apostles is by saying that it is a history of the planting and extension of the Church among both Jews and Gentiles by the continual establishment of radiating centers, as sources of influence, at certain prominent points throughout a large part of the Roman Empire, beginning at Jerusalem and ending at Rome. That is certainly a true and accurate way to describe it, but the most important happening in Acts is that God’s Holy Spirit descended upon the believers and continues to indwell us today! Where would we be without the guidance and direction, wisdom and counsel, and the intimacy through direct communication with God that is allowed to us by the Holy Spirit? The previous description also leaves out the human element—that which we most easily identify with—which shows the mighty power our God possesses by turning sinners into saints upon whom He built and continues to build His eternal kingdom!

We read about so many amazing happenings in the book of Acts. So many people giving of themselves, and not just parts of themselves, but their whole selves, even to the point of death. We see them giving of their finances and assets to the point where the Christians in Jerusalem had given so much away that other churches had to take offerings to send back because the Jewish Christians had found so much joy and seen so much need for giving that they gave everything they had. They even sold their houses and property so the name of Jesus would be spread!

We see great courage and strength sustained at levels that can only be explained as being backed by God’s unending love in Stephen as he becomes the first martyr for Christ. We find encouragement in Saul’s conversion, knowing that God can turn even the most jacked up life around and save the worst of sinners. We marvel at the power and boldness with which Peter spoke and acted as he discovered what it meant to live and die for Jesus Christ. We read in wonder over the unshakeable faith of the Apostles as they rejoice in suffering for Jesus’ holy name!

This all came about as a result of God’s Holy Spirit being unleashed upon His people, and His people being unleashed on the world like a tidal wave that no barrier or wall could stop. The Gospel (the Good News about Jesus Christ) spread even through language barriers, crossed national boundaries, traversed great seas, healed the lame and broken both physically and spiritually, it humbled the proud, and it became the great equalizer as both rich and poor gained an eternal inheritance in the Kingdom of God!

Nothing like this had ever happened in the history of the world where classism, racism, and hatred were overthrown by love. Jesus’ death on the cross defeated darkness once and for all, but its presence was still very much covering the earth. The book of Acts is a play-by-play of the first round of the fight wherein great earthly political battles break out and spiritual warfare takes it up to a full scale attack as the enemy sees for the first time just how bright the light that overtakes the darkness really is.

The Christians were doing so much in their communities and speaking out so loudly and so often as a result of the unleashing of the Holy Spirit in their lives that the Jewish religious leaders saw a real threat to their way of life and to their power over the people. As the Jewish religious leaders struggled with this reaction, the Pharisee Gamaliel advised the religious leaders in Acts 5:38-39 to “Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” Now, looking back on that time period, it’s easy for us to see where this activity originated, but think how exciting it would have been to be a part of the original Jesus movement!

This letter, The Acts of the Apostles which was written by Luke, is page after page of miraculous miracles and awesome accounts of the conversion of people from every socio-economic background and all different races and religions. What if this were happening at The Journey today? Repentance and revival occurring in the middle of our meetings! People of all backgrounds, all ages, all races, that were once lost but now found, those that were once broken but are now whole, coming to worship our glorious Creator as a result of the witness we carry and the ministry we do in our community.

This CAN happen at The Journey, in Seattle . . . in America, but it has to start from within each of us as we resolve to live our lives for our King and Savior. One of the dangers we face in this politically correct world is feeling that we should not speak out about our faith or share the hope of the love of God when the opportunity is laid before us. We forgo praying in public, or talking about going to church, or bringing up the blessings God bestows on us to non-Christians. Obviously, God wants us to be and has called us to be out there on the playing field making an impact. You can bring up God in everyday conversations without it being dorky or sounding cheesy. Those who were a part of the early church in the book of Acts were proudly changing the world one relationship at a time and at great peril to their very lives!

The Apostles and other believers at this time faced torture, beatings, and even death for speaking out. Although there are several humanist groups that ran ads on the sides of busses this past holiday groups that said “Why believe in a god? Be good for goodness’ sake,” and “There’s probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life,” the chances that we will face death for our beliefs in America are pretty slim. The worst we will face, at this point anyway, is the possible ridicule of others or the loss of a friendship or a broken relationship with a family member. If obeying God by speaking truth and hope into others’ lives comes at the cost of that relationship, then at least we know we remained faithful to the call God has on our lives.

The Journey’s hope is that as a result of going through The Acts of the Apostles, verse by verse, we will gain confidence that God can use us, the worst of sinners, to build His eternal kingdom, that we will gain faith that God can do the miraculous, and that we will gain boldness to speak out Jesus’ name and stand up for Truth as we await the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.